U.S. ambassador to China and former Iowa governor Terry Branstad says President Trump is justified in challenging China on the issue of free trade.

"China has not treated us or other countries fairly for a long time with their stealing of technology and also not enforcing intellectual property rights, the trade deficit has gone up and up," Branstad says. "We're trying to get fair and reciprocal trade."

He says the administration's goal is to double ag exports to China over the next five years.

"We're continuing to have discussions," Branstad says. "I'm trying to keep the leaders in Washington informed and do all that we can. We've had several meetings and we're going to continue to work on it."

Branstad says U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has been in talks with Chinese officials over the past two weeks.